2 Corinthians 12:16

2 Corinthians 12:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
• New International Version (NIV)Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery!
• English Standard Version (ESV)But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning!

Context of 2 Corinthians 12:16

14Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, devious person that I am, I took you in by deceit. 17Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? 18I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?

2 Corinthians 12:16 word by word

ἔστω δέ, ἐγὼ οὐ κατεβάρησα ὑμᾶς· ἀλλ᾽ ὑπάρχων πανοῦργος δόλῳ ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον.Read the interlinear

• you myselfἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• neverthelessἀλλάalla · butG235
• deviousπανοῦργοςpanourgos · craftyG3835
• tookλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• you in by deceitδόλοςdolos · deceitG1388

Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 12:16

• 2 Corinthians 12:13For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
• 2 Corinthians 11:9and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brothers came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.
• 2 Corinthians 1:12For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.
• 2 Corinthians 4:2but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.
• 2 Corinthians 7:2Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.
• 2 Corinthians 10:2I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I intend to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:3For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit;
• 1 Peter 2:3if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 12:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16But be it so, I did not burden you - That is: You grant that I did not burden you, that I took nothing from you, but preached to you the Gospel freely; but you say that, Being Crafty, I caught you with guile; i.e. getting from you, by means of others, what I pretended to be unwilling to receive immediately from yourselves. Many persons suppose that the words, being crafty, I caught you with guile, are the words of the apostle and not of his slanderers…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16But be it so - This is evidently a charge of his enemies; or at least a charge which it might be supposed they would make. Whether they ever in fact made it, or whether the apostle merely anticipates an objection, it is impossible to determine. It is clearly to be regarded as the language of objectors; for: (1) It can never be supposed that Paul would state as a serious matter that he had caught them with deceit or fraud. (2) he answers it as an objection…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-21Verses 11-21 We owe it to good men, to stand up in the defence of their reputation; and we are under special obligations to those from whom we have received benefit, especially spiritual benefit, to own them as instruments in God's hand of good to us. Here is an account of the apostle's behaviour and kind intentions; in which see the character of a faithful minister of the gospel. This was his great aim and design, to do good. Here are noticed several…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18Some Corinthians still believed Paul had tricked them. They might have suggested Paul took money from the collection for the Jerusalem church (chapters 8–9). The response to this accusation is a reminder of the honesty of Titus and the other brother (see 8:18–24). The integrity of Paul and his associates should disprove these false claims.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. I did not burden you--The "I" in the Greek is emphatic. A possible insinuation of the Corinthians is hereby anticipated and refuted: "But, you may say, granted that I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you (in my net) with guile"; namely, made a gain of you by means of others (1Th 2:3).Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Corinthians 12:16

• Love
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Backbiting
• Crafty
• Excuse
• Gain
• Grace
• Perfect
• Revelation
• Sufficient
• Thorn
• Unspeakable

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings